ROGER ESPINOZA’S FA CUP PREVIEW

24 January 2014

Nick Taylor

Roger Espinoza on FA Cup third round goal and his fourth round memories.

Roger Espinoza made his debut in the FA Cup against AFC Bournemouth last season, he continued to shine in the competition and helped Wigan Athletic win the famous, old trophy and this season he crowned off his performance against MK Dons at the DW Stadium by having his goal voted as the Goal of the Third Round.

It's safe to say Roger's affinity with the FA Cup is strong and he thanked supporters for voting for his goal:

“I’d like to thank all the fans and the people who voted for me.

“It’s great to get that recognition and it obviously means people thought it was a nice goal.

“I saw the video and there were a lot of good goals so I didn’t really think mine was going to win.

“The opportunity to shoot came up and once I’d decided to go for it I knew that it would be tough for the goalkeeper to stop it.”

On Latics Player commentary Espinoza’s stunning strike was likened to fellow countryman Maynor Figueroa’s drive against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup last season, something the Honduran said he was proud of:

“I remember seeing Maynor Figueroa’s goal last season at Nottingham Forest and that one was hit with a lot more power than mine.

“The two goals are pretty similar, they’re even close to the same spot on the pitch.

“For commentators to say that mine was as good as Maynor’s is a very big compliment.”

Latics face Crystal Palace in the fourth round this season, Espinoza says the team know it is going to be a tough test, and reminisced on last season’s fourth round as character building, saying:

“We have to get through difficult fixtures like the one we face against Crystal Palace and the games in these earlier rounds are where you can build your character.

“I remember the fourth round last season against Macclesfield Town and that was a really difficult game.

“It was a tough pitch to play on against a tough team in really cold conditions.

“Those are the games you’ve really got to win and I think they made us all stronger and gave us that set up to go all the way last season.”

Hoping for his special bond with the FA Cup to continue, Espinoza added:

“It’s great for my goal in the third round to be voted for and hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to score again this weekend.

“I’m excited to go again in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace and you never know, maybe I’ll give people another goal to vote for in the fourth round.”